For many it is hard to imagine how it is like for persons with avision impairment. How do you see ? What do you see ? Why can youread this but do not see that ? Often that are questions when youmeet a person with visual impairment but very often the answer isalmost impossible to give. It is hard for one, who has nocomparison, to describe what he is seeing and how it is differentfrom what you see. We developed iSee to raise awareness on visionimpairments and hope to help for better understanding in what itmeans to have a sight limitation. ISee is a simulator using therear camera of your phone or tablet, displays the captured liveimage and adds one of the most common sight illnesses. Theintensity of the sight loss can be regulated. It is possible tochose among Macular degeneration, Retinitis Pigments, Glaucoma orCataract. Besides the simulation iSee includes to each illnessinformation on treatments, causes and a description on its impacton the sight. iSee was developed in cooperation withophthalmologists. IRIFOR Macerata and the Italian Blind Union inMacerata is working close together with hundreds of persons withvision limitations and the experiences can be found in thisapplication. IMPORTANT: Advices and information provided by thisapp are for personal orientation and no medical advice. Each personexperiences the disease differently. Please, when you experienceany symptoms, contact a professional physician. Included Eyediseases: - Macular degeneration - Macular Degeneration usuallyoccurs at people over 60. There are two types of maculardegeneration: atrophic ("dry") and exudative ("wet"). As peopleage, parts of the retina may deteriorate. Although the cause ofthis condition is not clear, possible causes and risk factors mayinclude: lack of certain vitamins and minerals, breakdown incirculation to the retina, untreated health conditions such as highblood pressure, excessive exposure to ultraviolet light from thesun, heredity, and smoking. The eye care doctor can diagnosemacular degeneration during a comprehensive eye examination.Ophthalmoscopy is a procedure that allows the doctor to view theback of the eye, including the macula. If macular degeneration issuspected, a fluorescein angiogram may be performed. In thisprocedure, dye is injected into the arm and travels to the eye.Damaged areas become highlighted to help determine which type ofmacular degeneration is present, wet or dry. - Retinitis Pigments -Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of inherited eye diseases thataffect the retina. RP causes the breakdown of photoreceptor cellsand the patient experience progressive vision loss. The first signsof retinitis pigmentosa in affected children are identifiable by adoctor as early as age 10. In most cases, the disorder is linked toa recessive gene, a gene that must be inherited from both parentsin order to cause the disease. But dominant genes and genes on theX chromosome also have been linked to retinitis pigmentosa. Inthese cases, only one parent has passed the disease gene. In somecases, a new mutation causes the disease to occur. - Cataract - Acataract is a clouding of the lens in the eye leading to a decreasein vision. They may affect one or both eyes and often developslowly over time. Cataracts are commonly appearing while aging.They may also occur due to trauma or radiation exposure. In somecases they also can be present from birth or occur following eyesurgery. Risk factors are diabetes, smoking, extensive exposure tosunlight, and alcohol. Either clumps of protein or yellow-brownpigment may be deposited in the lens reducing the transmission oflight to the retina at the back of the eye. - Glaucoma - Glaucomais the name of group of several diseases that damage the eye’soptic nerve and can result in vision loss and blindness. However,with early detection and treatment, you can often protect your eyesagainst serious vision loss.

A collection of interesting facts around accessibilityanddisability.